


Talented

by abundantlyqueer



Series: Kissing Boys [3]
Category: Lord of the Rings RPF
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2003-08-28
Updated: 2003-08-28
Packaged: 2017-10-13 01:29:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,325
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/131313
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/abundantlyqueer/pseuds/abundantlyqueer
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"A'right Bloom," Billy says severely when he emerges from his pint glass. "What bodily function do ye'have uncanny voluntary control over?"</p>
            </blockquote>





	Talented

**Author's Note:**

> Probably from a later date in the "Kissing Boys" universe. Yet again resorts to the never-exhausted "four hobbits and an elf are sitting in a pub" premise.

"Okay, okay, gimme a second," Dom insists, shoving Billy's shoulder to stop him crowding in against the low table while Dom moves empty glasses around like chess pieces to clear a little space in front of himself.

He sets up two empty pint glasses, one about six inches behind the other, lays a beer mat over the top of the one nearest to him and places a penny on it. The others are all laughing, as much at the engrossed expression on Dom's face as at the four rounds of drinks they've had and the two days off they've got coming.

"Alright, drum roll please," Dom announces, jerking his wrists out of the frayed cuffs of his denim shirt.

Billy obliges after a fashion, making a noise reminiscent of water escaping under high pressure and scurrying his two hands up and down frantically. Everyone laughs at that too, except Dom who's pushing his flattened palms against the air in front of him and breathing dramatically through his nose.

"HiYa!" Dom snaps, slapping the fingertips of his right hand up under the protruding edge of the beer mat so that it and the penny take flight.

The penny arcs and drops rattling into the second pint glass and the beer mat flops flat across the top, not quite dead square but pretty damn close. Everyone erupts into applause, except Billy, who's face down on his own knees crying with laughter.

"Fucking amazing!" Orli cries, and leans across the table to high-five Dom.

"Awesome!" Elijah laughs.

"That," Billy sobs, lifting his head and looking at Dom, "is the mos' pathetic excuse fer ah trick Ah have ever seen."

"Ahh shuddup," Dom sneers. "Let's see you do any better."

"Ah couldn'ay do much worse," Billy crows. "A'right, a'right."

He sits up straighter on his seat and composes himself. Everyone gets very quiet, except Elijah who can't quite stifle a little squirt of laughter that escapes mostly through his nose.

"Are yeh ready?" Billy asks mildly.

"We're ready," Dom nods.

There's a silence while everyone looks at Billy intently and waits for something to happen. Orli's the first to get it.

"Look at his ears man!" he howls, collapsing sideways onto Elijah in hysterics.

Billy flushes in triumph: his two ears are slowly but very emphatically wagging backwards and forwards. Everyone else is reduced to about the same state as Orli.

"I wanna see you do that with hobbit ears on," Dom manages between gasps of laughter.

"Ye canna do it wi'hobbit ears on, yeh idiot," Billy says acidly. "They're glued flat to yer fuckin' head."

Somehow this comment is even funnier than the sight of Billy's ears moving with the stately indifference of airplane landing flaps. Elijah resorts to pounding his fist on Orli's shoulder to alleviate the pressure in his chest that mere laughing can't ease.

"Astin, you're up," Dom says when he can more or less take a breath again.

Sean's not paying attention, being engrossed in paying the waitress for the round of drinks she's carrying. Sean half-rises off his seat and transfers glasses two at time from her tray to the table.

"Thanks," he says pleasantly. "And, maybe, you better just set up the next one right away, given the rate these guys are drinking."

"Brilliant!" Billy trills. "Tha' man has ah natural talent."

"To the maestro," Orli says, lifting his brimming beer glass to Sean.

"The maestro!" everyone else chimes, while Sean gives them the long-suffering pursed-lipped frown that means he loves them but he thinks they're a bunch of crazy drunks. There's a brief respite while everyone takes the new look off their drinks.

"Right, Lijah, amaze us," Dom says.

"Oh man, okay," Elijah grins, raking his fingers through the choppy mess of his hair. He sits up.

"You're not gonna waggle your ears are you?" Orli asks warily. "'Cos I'm not sure I can survive another one like that."

Elijah makes a noise half-way between a laugh and a sneeze.

"Shut up," he grins, shoving Orli off with the flat of his hand. "I can't do this if I'm laughing, and for credit I gotta do it fast."

Now they're intrigued, and everyone quiets down. The grin just drops away from Elijah's face. He takes a little breath - a tiny sipping breath - through his parted lips and his dark silky eyebrows gather together and crumple so slightly. His eyes round up, gazing into the middle distance with sudden disbelief and dismay.

No one else at the table is breathing.

Elijah closes his mouth, pressing his lips together in a way that might almost convey resolution except that his bottom lip isn't tucked in enough, it pokes out a little like a child's bewildered pout. His eyes fill, tears shining like quicksilver as they gather on his black lashes, quiver, and almost instantly --

\-- spill, two tracks of silver coursing down his cheeks. Elijah lets it run for a couple of seconds, the drops hanging heavily from his jaw then overbalancing and splashing down onto his thighs. He shakes himself, opens his mouth wide and squeezes his eyes shut and wipes his face with his hands and wipes his hands on his jeans.

"Jesus," Orli murmurs, and Dom and Sean make small noises that might be appreciation or just envy.

"How the fuck do yeh do that?" Billy demands.

"Same way you waggle your ears," Elijah grins.

"Surgical enhancement?" Billy says, and that's enough to make everyone laugh again.

There's another pause for alcohol.

"A'right Bloom," Billy says severely when he emerges from his pint glass. "What bodily function do ye'have uncanny voluntary control over?"

"Urination," Orli says, standing up and walking towards the men's room at the back of the bar.

They catcall at his retreating back.

"Aye, go'n' fix yer hair," Billy whoops, which is funny because Orli's gotten bored with the Mohawk and now his entire skull is naked except for a shadow of dark stubble.

Orli takes his time, rubbing his wet palm over his scalp while washing his hands and messing with the sleeves of his tee-shirt, tucking them tight and rolling them up high on his arms.

"Hey," Elijah smiles, peeping around the door.

Orli doesn't answer, just smiles in return.

"Are you hiding?" Elijah asks.

"No. Yes."

Elijah comes the rest of the way in.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing -- it's stupid -- it's just -- I don't know what to do," Orli murmurs, his right hand ghosting past Elijah's shoulder, close but not touching.

"Do?" Elijah echoes, lifting his chin to look Orli in the face.

"For a talent. It's my turn, but I can't think of anything," Orli explains. His hand is still hovering, fingertips describing in the air the curl of dark hair lying in front of Elijah's ear. "Maybe I don't have any talents."

Elijah gets bad eyes, and Orli inhales shakily, realizing he's said the wrong thing.

"You've got talents," Elijah hums, catching Orli's drifting hand in his own and pressing it firmly against his cheek.

"You said never in a public place," Orli mutters.

"Uh huh."

Elijah turns his face, bringing his mouth into the cup of Orli's hand, and licks a long deliberate stripe from wrist sinews to bow calluses. Orli makes a small noise deep in his throat.

"You said never in a place that doesn't have a lock on the door," he says, his voice as steady as he can make it on trembling breath.

"Uh huh."

Elijah shifts, drawing Orli's hand down against Elijah's groin, molding Orli's fingers to the hard curve of Elijah's erection. Orli hacks out a sharp exhalation and his fingers flex enough to make Elijah's eyes flicker for a second.

"You said never with the guys within a mile of us," Orli breathes.

"Uh huh."

Elijah wraps his arm around Orli's neck and draws him in.

"See? You've got talents," Elijah whispers against Orli's lips. "You can make a liar out of me, for a start."


End file.
